Bristol XXX Warlock
A rich, rare treat. An epic labor of love that will change your notion of what beer can be. Brewed with maple syrup and honey, and aged for three years, its warm toffee notes and round mellow tone are purely stunning. Like candy for the soul.
3.5
160 reviews
Colorado Springs, United States
Community reviews
This double imperial stout was just a little too strong for my tastes. The flavor was mostly masked by the harsh alcohol taste. I love the winter warlock, but the XXX not so much. I’d rather have three winter warlocks then one XXX.
12oz bottle, brewed 9/25/03, bottled 6/9/06. Poured surprisingly light.. like watered down cola, with a head that fizzed away mighty quickly.. looked still in the glass. My first impression of the aroma was warm and sweet.. next came brandy sugars, maple syrup, and a little bit of molasses.. a deeper breath showed a hefty dose of cardboardey oxidation.. another hit of maple syrup on the back. The flavor opened with sharp, peppery alcohol heat riding maple syrup flavor and thickness.. more maple syrup and honey at the core, along with dry English toffee and brandy-like sugars.. some sharp bitterness and tacky warmth surrounded.. big oxidation on the back and through the finish made it nearly undrinkable.. more syrupy maple and boozage on the long, sticky finish. Heavy-bodied with very low carbonation on the palate.. hot and oxidized.. this was a mess.
Taste thanks to mtoast!
Dark mahogany, light white head. Solvent nose, roast most prominent, and some soy with warmth. Flavor is root, cigarette ash, wood, and some fudge in the finish. An absolute mess with a thin body and ungodly heat. Hart always wins.
Thanks Hart for sharing this one!
A- Appearance is very interesting. At first the body looks like it is a nice translucent dark cola color. What amazed me is when held up to the light the body shines and sparkles as it is a completely transparent jewely dark amber hue. Pours with a small fizzy off-white head the completely disappears.
S-The nose is all booze. Lots and lots of grain alcohol or maybe cheap vodka. Underneath this all when you can finally get past it are some typical stout characteristics such as plum and anise underneath. The nose is strong and pretty much burns your nostrils.
T- Flavor is much better than the nose. What is really interesting is that this brew pretty much tastes like a campfire. Roasted malt, dark chocolate, burnt marshmallows, and a hint of molasses...and of course a slight alcohol flavor and big alcohol warmth at the conclusion.
M- Astringent with alcohol, low to medium carbonation, but relatively thick and slightly creamy.
D-The flavor is decent-but overall this is still way too hot. An interesting brew overall but not sure what else to expect with an 18.4% brew. Not very drinkable.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 04-29-2010 15:59:02
Bottle. Pours a black color with no head. Has a sweetish malty soy and caramel aroma with some hints of licorice and honey. Sweetish warming roasted malty caramel and honey flavor with hints of toffee and some weak hints of coffee. Has a warming roasted malty chocolate and toffee finish with some hints of honey in the aftertaste.
Bottle shared at the Feb. Houston RB tasting. Black with no head. Nose is soy and sweet. Taste is very sweet, soy sauce, smoky, caramel, very low carbonation. Chewy. Good sipper and the alcohol is very well hidden.
Thanks to bleeng for this beer. Color is dark cola with no head. Nose of very sweet caramel, honey, hops and pure love. Hugely rich flavor of coffee, toffee, alcoholic heat and some herbal elements as well. Very, very tasty. Thanks Rick.
Pours s black color with no head. Aroma of soy, maple, chocolate and alcohol vapors. Strong, overbearing and almost obnoxious flavor of maple, chocolate, soy and alcohol. The body is medium with a liquorous texture and moderate carbonation. This is very sweet and packs a lot of alcohol heat.
12 oz. bottle shared by shigadeyo. Pours a hazy dark brown with a small beige head. The aroma is sweet toffee, ripe fruits, and alcohol. The flavor is sweet rich malt, toffee, chocolate, ripe dark fruits and a tiny amount of oxidation. The alcohol hides in the flavors, but is very warming. Medium-full bodied and smooth drinking.
Rating #134 for this beer.
damn, lots of cheapskates here, fuck its a tenner a bottle, you got money right? so, can i have some of your money ... my bottle was from 2003 .. . tons of sherry and other sweet cellared flavors .. sugar and sherry main players .. . at 18% what do you want..
Shared a 12-oz bottle (2005 vintage) supplied by Secret Satan. Pours an opaque nearly black colored brew with a thick tan head that slowly dissipates to a thin film top. Aroma of roasted dark malt, dark chocolate, a hint of soy sauce, dark berries and some alcohol burn. Taste is full bodied, slightly oily texture with flavors of roasted dark malt, toffee, dusted caramel malt, dark chocolate and a hint of bourbon. Finish has some heavy alcohol, light in the bitterness with plenty of dark chocolate and tart berry aftertaste.
brewed 9/25/03; bottled 6/9/06
10/18/2009: XXX Warlock Double Imperial Stout... Aroma: Excellent caramelization accompanied by an intriguing alcohol presence. Appearance: Deep amber brown; transparent complexion; no foam on the top surface. Flavor: Wow! Sweet, cooked chocolate pudding; raisins; black plum; rich molasses with a hint of butterscotch; nice alcohol in the nose, warming; very slight oxidation; very complex overall. Palate: Medium-bodied; silky smooth. Overall: This is a damn fine beer that has aged very well.
12 fluid oz. bottle (ibu 80; alcohol by volume 18.4%) from hopdog via trade in August 2007. Thanks Steve! Rating #132 for this beer.
Bottle shared by shigadeyo.
Poured clear dark brown color with an average frothy brown head that mostly lasted with fair lacing. Moderate roasted malt and dark fruit aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium dark fruit sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish and alcohol burn of moderate duration.
Solid drinkable complex beer.
2003 bottle at Ft Wayne tasting - Pours very dark brown with minimal head. It has an aroma of dark roast malt and alcohol. The flavor is roast malt with some interesting woody notes. Given the very high abv, it’s not surprising that even after all this time it’s kind of hot. Tasty and full bodied.
This 2003 6 years old to the day we drank it bottled brew from Brian at a rating party poured a small sized head of foamy tan colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a semi-opaque softly carbonated dark ruby red brown colored body. The aroma was sweet dark malt and candy. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and strongly tingly at the finish. The vinous flavor contained notes of strong hops and dark malt. A wonderful best in class brew.
Bottle from Liquor Max. Pours a clear ruby brown with a few bubbles. The aroma is really strong. Like burnt malt, tar, overly cooked dark fruit, alcohol. Pretty full in body. Very light carbonation. First flavor is chocolate, then some maple, then some really nasty tar, a burning in the throat, charred caramel. Don’t think there’s oak, but there might be. It’s doing a lot of things. Finishes really dark and pretty bitter, with a slight balancing candy. Not to be missed.
Bottle at Papsø’s - Thanks to CaptainCougar. Almost black - white head. Ashtray, whiskey, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, alcoholic, syrup, berries, dried fruits, coconut, burned, bitterness, sweetness. Nice aroma - taste is a bit strange.
Dark brown with a medium tiny lasting beige head. Sweet aroma with burned malt, chocolate and coffee notes. Sweet flavour with bruned malt, dark bitter chocolate, hops and mollasses. Finished sweet with warming alcohol.
Nice nose of sweet fruits. Can smell the bitch from across the room. Flavor is way, way too sweet. Cloying with a bit of bitterness in the end. Difficult to drink down a 12 oz bottle. And this is hot. Alcohol is very apparent and thin bodied. Not crazy about it.
Bottle 12fl.oz. @ home.
[ Trade by BDR ]. Clear dark black color with a small to average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white to light beige head. Aroma is heavy malty, chocolate, dusty, cacao, dark berry, medera, soy sauce, moderate alcoholic. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat, finish feel is moderate to heavy alcoholic. [20090707]
(bottle from Weber St. Liqour in Colorado Springs). Pours a black color. Small tan head which diminishes quickly. Strong alcohol aroma with light toffee. Strong alcohol flavor. Long duration. Alcohol texture. No lacing. Soft carbonation.
Poured black with tan head. Aroma of coffee and booze. Taste wasn’t as harsh as I thought. Pretty mellow sweet malt and some fruit. Finished kind of strong but very drinkable.
2006 bottle. HELL YEAH BABY! Almost a black pour with a small head. A crapload of molasses, stewed prunes, toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, maple and some chocolate. Flavor is sweet and thick. Loads of molasses, prunes, raisins, vanilla, toffee, and wow over 18%? I knew it was big, but it didn’t seem THAT big. Nice beer. My kind of brew!!
2006 bottle thanks to bman1113vr. poured black with a tan head and some nice legs. aroma of chocolate, dark fruits, and alcohol. flavor of chocolate, dark fruit, alcohol, and vinous characters. body was slick with low carbonation. great brew!!
DLD 2009, thanks to [?]: This poured a headless, intensely dark brown body. It had an aroma of molasses, dark malt, warm toffee, and dried dark fruit. That pretty well reflects the flavor, except that the alcohol showed its presence as the drinking continued. The finish was sweet with a very sharp alcohol burn. Pretty nice, but not the kind of brew that I’d drink with any regularity.
2006 bottle courtesy of BMan1113VR. Black color with no head. Big aromas of Blackened malts sweet tobacco and dark ripe pit fruits. Heavy flavors mirror the aroma with tangy tobacco sweet dark pit fruits figs dates and black malts. Light warming booziness to finish. I would not have guessed this to be 18%. Nice
bottle thanks to bman1113vr. Dark brown pour with a little off white head. Aroma of sweet caramel, raisins and currants. Flavor was dark fruits, meaty, smoke. Syrupy mouthfeel that did a decent job hiding the ginormous amount of alcohol.
Bottled 6/9/06. Pours with a black body and a small off-white head. Aroma is alcohol, grainy, dry animal food, raisins, biscuit and chocolate. Taste is awesome with Madeira, port, vinous notes, alcohol raisins, smokey barbecue, brandy and brown sugar. Syrupy with light bubbles. Not very easy to get down (because of the immense alcohol), but still a very delicious drink.
12oz bottle. Brewed on 9/25/03 and bottled on 6/09/06. Pours an extremely dark, blood red body. Almost black. Very thick with no head whatsoever and only a light, oily lace. Monster aroma! I smelled it as soon as I heard the cap pop. Extremely complex and sweet. Loaded with bourbon, ripe dark fruits, and wood. Lots of very mellow malts with an almighty molasses and maple nose. Some very rich and sweet chocolate as well as a hint of soy. Wow, intense wood and prune. I really like this! The bourbon stays very even and never starts to burn. The dark fruits continue to dominate and the dry wood gives this an amazing aged aroma. Definitely does not smell like an imperial stout. The flavor is extremely complex as well and never leads me to believe this is 18.4% ABV. Very mellow throughout. Just a touch of sweet chocolate, but mainly a thick molasses taste. Big ripe dark fruits and prunes with a sweet berry malt. Lots of malty toffees and maple. Light sugary, vanilla aftertaste with a growing bourbon flavor. Very woody, which leads to an intense dry finish. Almost like I’m sucking the flavor out of a toothpick. Palate is light and somewhat sticky, but surprisingly never gets syrupy...which is VERY impressive. Warming on the way down. Overall, wow. This is good. I don’t want it to end. I was not expecting much, but damn. Not once does this taste anything more than 5% ABV. Remains perfectly balanced and warm, while maintaining a mellow sweetness and big wood flavor throughout. Oh baby, I wish I could go back to CO for more of this gem.
reign of pain brought down by rustychiles.
brewed 9/25/03 and bottled 6/9/06...
smells like a bag of dry dog food, chewing tobacco, molasses, umami and wood. not a bad smell if you don’t already know what it is going to taste like. (the phx crew has a habit of bringing painful beers to tastings... i’m looking at you, dave. mr chug-a-lug-a sam adams triple blackout bock).
the flavor is as expected... hellfire, alcohol burn, tobacco juice, molasses and wood. hot, salty and sweet are some of my favorite descriptors... just not in beer! the mouth feel is... well, it’s pretty much near impossible to choke this one down... 6/3/3/1/11/2.4